The Ultimate Witches Quiz

Grab your broomsticks and black cats because it's time for the Ultimate Witches Quiz! Find out the hocus pocus behind the Salem witch trials, witches today and other magical facts.

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Question 1 of 10

The word "pagan" comes from the Latin "pagini," which means what?

evil

home dweller

The connotations of "pagan" didn't start off negatively. In fact, the word comes from the Latin word meaning "home dweller" or "country person."

flying object

Question 2 of 10

During the Salem witch trials in 1692, the two girls who accused women of practicing witchcraft may have suffered from what condition?

epilepsy

Tourette's syndrome

clinical hysteria

The two girls who blamed their convulsions and painful sensations of being pinched and bitten on witchcraft may have suffered from clinical hysteria. Twenty people were executed as a result of their claims.

Question 3 of 10

The Malleus Maleficarum, published during the Roman Inquisition, established what long-standing stereotype about witches?

Witches are predominantly women.

Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum, outlined witchcraft as devised by females. They claimed that women are, by nature, more susceptible to the influence of evil spirits.

Black cats accompany witches.

Witches wear pointy hats.

Question 4 of 10

How long did witch hunts last in Europe?

50 years

150 years

300 years

The Middle Ages weren't a good time for witches in Europe. Witch hunts lasted in Europe and European colonies from the 1450s to the 1750s.

Question 5 of 10

What does a witch's broomstick symbolize?

fertility

The broomstick connection, which began during the Renaissance, is most closely associated with fertility. Women used brooms to clean the house, and some cultures included broomsticks in rituals to promote fertility and bountiful harvests.

death

protection

Question 6 of 10

The Wiccan religion, which draws on ancient pagan beliefs and rituals, was created where?

United States

Britain

Wicca, a modern pagan religion that worships the Earth and nature, was established in Britain in the 1940s and '50s by Gerald Gardner, who defined witchcraft as a positive and life-affirming religion. The central Wiccan theme is, "If it does no harm, do your own will."

Ireland

Question 7 of 10

Why are black cats associated with witches?

Ancient Celts sacrificed black cats during Samhain.

Old women often kept cats around the home for company.

The cats' dark color was connoted with evil during the Inquisition.

In ancient Egypt, cats were originally worshipped as divine, but during the Inquisition, their ominous black fur became associated with witchcraft. According to some folklore, witches can turn themselves into black cats.

Question 8 of 10

The magic of modern witchcraft is technically referred to as what?

magick

Modern witches refer to their craft as magick, to differentiate it from magicians' illusion work.

sorcery

hexing

Question 9 of 10

What is a male witch called?

warlock

wizard

witch

Male witches are still called witches, as opposed to warlocks. The term "warlock" is actually an insult meaning "oath breaker" in reference to people who identified fellow witches during the medieval witch hunts.

Question 10 of 10

If Wiccans perform magick intended to harm someone else, what will supposedly happen?

The devil will visit them.

Their evil magick will return to them threefold.

Since Wiccans are taught to do no harm, ill-intended magick will be returned to them threefold. Wiccan magick is intended for personal change only.